Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

Chapter 93

The way to confirm this hypothesis was simple.

Because right next to me was someone who might know the answer.

“Kayla, by any chance….”

At that moment, I grabbed Kayla\'s shoulder to grasp the situation.

“……Yes, that\'s right.”

I realized there was no need to ask any further.

Shoulders trembling as if frightened and a face pale as if drained of blood.

That was enough of an answer.

“They\'re, they\'re out of their minds! Cut them down together with those things-!”

“Kill them! Kill them all!”

As the Knight Commander\'s order fell, the situation spiraled further into chaos.

Watching the chaos, I quickly racked my brains.

‘Killing is not an option.’

Killing is, in a way, the easiest and simplest option to choose here.

It\'s just a matter of slaughtering those people without treating them as human beings.

But if I did, I wouldn\'t be able to face Kayla the same way as before.

And the same goes for Kayla.

In other words, it means I have to stop the situation that is unfolding right now, no matter what.

Of course.

Crack!

“Argh! This damn dog bit me……!”

“Die! Diee!”

That\'s not easy either.

Currently, the people of Sector 7 are out of their minds, attacking the soldiers, and those demons are endlessly pouring out of the rift, increasing their numbers.

In this situation, I couldn\'t just ask them to stop attacking without any countermeasures.

Then I had to find a way to save the residents of Sector 7 without harming my allies.

Fortunately, I made a quick decision.

“When I give the signal, get down! Mister, please take care of Kayla!”

“What? Get down? Wait a minute, first-place guy! Where are you going!”

Thud!

There was no time to explain everything.

Leaving Thompson\'s shout behind, I left the outpost and sought out the Knight Commander.

He was currently in the midst of the battlefield, diligently attacking the demons and the residents.

I immediately cloaked myself in electric magic.

Bzzzt!

It felt like all the dormant muscles and nerves were awakened at once.

Maintaining that sensation, I launched my body.

Fwoosh!

I reached the Knight Commander in an instant and dealt with the demon he was aiming his sword at.

Bam!

Kueeek!

The demon, hit squarely with my accelerated fist, was flung into the air.

When I turned around after confirming that, the Knight Commander was looking at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“……Who are you?”

“I am Yuhan, the 5th Circle mage assigned to this place.”

“Mage? Why has a mage come all the way here? Fall back. We\'ll take care of this.”

“No. Would you please listen to me for a moment?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“We need to stop the attack now. Those people are citizens of Asternon.”

“What?”

His surprise was brief.

The Knight Commander quickly returned to his expressionless face and brushed the blood off his sword.

Pitter-patter!

He stared at his clean sword and muttered.

“……As expected. They were the residents of the vanished Sector 7.”

Seeing that he grasped it all at once, it seemed the Knight Commander had also suspected it to some extent.

Then it would be much easier to talk.

However.

The words that followed were far from welcome.

The Knight Commander looked me straight in the eye and opened his mouth.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I can move without hesitation.”

“……Pardon?”

“There\'s no need to feel guilty about cutting down that trash, is there?”

Damn it.

This is the worst-case scenario I anticipated.

The Knight Commander doesn\'t even consider the people of Sector 7 as human beings.

‘That\'s why I deliberately said they were citizens of Asternon, not residents of Sector 7….’

To think he would be such a perceptive Knight Commander.

There was no helping it now.

I had no choice but to persuade him somehow.

“If you save these people, it will surely be recognized as a great contribution.”

“Saving this trash is a contribution? You\'ll be lucky if you don\'t get cursed out.”

“Your honor will also rise. The news that you saved the people of Sector 7 will spread throughout Asternon. Honor is the most important thing in chivalry, isn\'t it?”

“The first principle of chivalry is to uphold justice against evil. Honor is not more important than that.”

“Is harming people justice?”

“Do they look like people to you? They are clearly evil.”

“…….”

How long did we argue like that?

“They are the ones affected by Asmodeus\'s power. Maybe we can find a clue to solve her power.”

“Asmodeus?”

The Knight Commander, who hadn\'t even listened to a word I said, finally faltered.

It seemed that the idea that it could help solve the Legion Commander\'s power was tempting.

Seizing the opportunity, I continued my explanation.

“Yes, distorting the mind is Asmodeus\'s specialty. And this war is by no means one that can be ended in a short time.”

“Go on.”

“It won\'t be long before Asmodeus shows herself in person. And what she will do… is obvious. She will launch a widespread mental attack. Just like she did to the people of Sector 7. Then what will happen?”

After throwing that question, I looked at the battlefield.

Following my gaze, the Knight Commander also turned his head.

“Uwaaagh!”

“Get out! Get out of here!”

The battlefield was still chaotic.

Soldiers and residents were attacking each other, repeatedly falling and getting back up.

Most of the time, the heavily armed soldiers were winning, but some were starting to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies.

“Ugh, this son of a bitch is at my throat……!”

The important thing here is that this is just the result of the residents of Sector 7.

What if knights or a Knight Commander level combatant were mixed in?

Naturally, the result would have been far more disastrous than now.

Did the Knight Commander sense that too?

“It certainly looks dangerous.”

He nodded as if he understood somewhat.

I didn\'t miss the opportunity and drove the wedge in.

“We need to prepare for that variable. Maybe those residents will be the key.”

“You\'re saying we should capture them alive?”

“Yes, precisely.”

“Hmm.”

The Knight Commander clenched his teeth and pondered.

Then, with a resolute look, he shook his head.

“I understand the intent, but we can\'t afford to do that right now. If we\'re not careful, our forces could suffer heavy casualties.”

That\'s a valid point.

If someone gets injured trying to capture the residents alive, the cost outweighs the benefit.

But.

“Don\'t worry about that. I have a way.”

I wouldn\'t have brought it up if that were the case.

“A way?”

“Yes, I can incapacitate the demons and residents for a while with my magic. If we capture them then, there won\'t be any problems.”

“……You can do that with your magic?”

“Trust me.”

The Knight Commander clenched his teeth again.

Perhaps it\'s an unconscious habit when he\'s thinking…

Soon.

“Alright. Go ahead and do as you please. However, if this goes wrong, you\'ll have to take responsibility.”

Finally, a positive answer came.

Well, the talk about responsibility weighs heavily on my shoulders, but this is a successful outcome.

“Yes, I\'ll take responsibility.”

I nodded once and then laid out a more detailed plan to the Knight Commander.

By the time the briefing was over.

“Cease attack! Everyone into defensive formation!”

The Knight Commander gave the order to cease attack in a booming voice.

It\'s finally time to start the operation in earnest.

The so-called Sector 7 Resident Capture Operation.

Thud, thud, thud!

At the Knight Commander\'s order, the soldiers lined up with large shields.

“Block them! Block them!”

“Don\'t let a single demon through!”

They lined up so tightly, as if to not allow even the slightest gap, it was like looking at a wall made of humans.

After a brief moment of admiration, I immediately hid behind the shields and raised my mana.

Using all the magic-related artifacts I bought from the black market, such as the belt and arm guards.

Woooong!

Like a firmly shut floodgate bursting open, mana drained from me in an instant.

There was no need to worry, though.

It was being replenished at a speed that could keep up.

-Mana regeneration increased by 300%.

A mana sphere formed above my outstretched palms.

I mobilized the endless mana to continuously increase the size of the sphere.

Woooong! Woooong! Woooong!

The mana sphere grew larger with time.

What I was about to do was a new technique I could use after reaching the 5th Circle.

In other words, it\'s a super-large casting magic that can only be wielded by those at 6th Circle or higher, amplified by the effect of the [Holy Staff].

This meant that I had to concentrate more than ever.

\'Calmly.\'

Recognizing that the lives of the people of Sector 7 depended on me, I calmly poured in mana.

Bigger, bigger.

“What is that mage trying to do?”

“What’s with that size……!”

“That\'s not any magic I know?”

The sphere had now surpassed the size of the rift.

Only then did I stop injecting mana.

“This should be enough….”

It was enough.

Enough to incapacitate the thousands of demons in front of me.

“Huuup.”

Holding my staggering body, I took a deep breath.

And then, I shouted at the top of my lungs in a voice I had never used before.

“Everyone, get down-!”

That was the moment.

The world turned white.

Fwaaaaaash!

Super-large casting magic is activated in various ways depending on the caster\'s intention.

Dropping a meteor made of magic, freezing all living things around, causing rapid temperature changes to alter the weather, and so on.

If the caster\'s skill was sufficient, there were truly no limitations.

And what I cast now was super-large casting magic imbued with the light attribute.

Its destructive power was close to zero, but it could incapacitate enemies over a wide area.

Simply put.

\'A super-large flashbang.\'

An intense pure white light spread across the entire battlefield.

Even though I was lying face down with my eyes closed and my hands covering them, I could still feel the light.

If it was like this for me, who cast the magic and was fully prepared, what about the others?

They would probably be blinded.

Yes, just like those guys.

Kieeeeek-!

Groan! Gurururup!

The demons clutched their eyes at the intense flash that engulfed the battlefield.

At the same time, they started making a frantic commotion.Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

Some were writhing, some were spinning in place, some were running into walls.

They were causing a ruckus in all sorts of ways.

It was clear that their vision was not functioning properly.

It was the same for the residents.

“My, my eyes……!”

“I can\'t see! I can\'t see!”

They were busy panicking, forgetting all about biting our allies.

I naturally turned my gaze to where the Knight Commander was, and our eyes met.

As I carefully nodded, the Knight Commander shouted.

“Cut down all the demons! Capture the humans alive!”

“Uoooooooo-!”

The soldiers let out a loud roar and charged forward.

Now, they had nothing to fear.